


Yikea

by craveaboon



Category: Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 - Malloy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arguing, Gen, Immaturity, One Shot, Teamwork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 14:05:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13614909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/craveaboon/pseuds/craveaboon
Summary: Natasha & Sonya desperately work together to build a table from Ikea, completing it with a mixture of failure and success





	Yikea

Natasha made a gesture with one hand as if she were directing a plane landing, the opposite hand holding the front door wide open for Sonya. “Bring it in, you’re clear!” She exclaimed as if talking over loud machinery, though it was out of enthusiasm.

Sonya trudged through the open door, arms occupied with a box that she could barely peer over. Her arms began to wobble out of exhaustion, and her walking was turning into more of a stumble. Carefully navigating through the practically empty and quite spacious apartment, she was determined to reach the living room without colliding with any walls.

“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Natasha asked while closing the door behind them, eyebrows furrowed with worry as Sonya clearly struggled.

“I’m perfectly capable of carrying a box, Natasha.” Sonya grunted, finally plopping the box down beside a row of others just like it. Ikea boxes with bright logos, and illustrations of the furniture that was held inside. After the task was completed, she pulled away with a weak smile, brushing her hands off with each other before allowing them to rest on her hips. “See?” She added with a weary tone, but still very proudly.

“One of these days, your stubbornness will be the death of us all.” Natasha jokingly replied, following Sonya into the living room where she was already knelt down, tearing open the boxes with her bare hands.

Sonya laughed, “If anyone is stubborn, my child, it’s you.” She shook her head and continued to yank off wads of tape, pulling open the cardboard flaps. “I’m simply determined, which is much different.”

Natasha crossed her arms, mouth now agape. “I take offense to that!” She argued, “Maybe I’m just as determined as you!” She asserted before letting out a huff, “You still talk to me like an infant. We’re not that far apart in age, you know.”

Sonya slowly turned her head, trailing her gaze upward to view Natasha hovering over her. Her eyebrows slowly raised, a closed smile appearing as a way to silently say ‘I told you so’.

After realizing the overreaction that occurred, Natasha swallowed her pride and let her arms fall back to her sides. “I see your point..” She reluctantly admitted, looking defeated.

Attempting to rid the tension and return the mood to its original state of excitement, Sonya offered Natasha an extended hand along with a beaming smile. “This table isn’t going to build itself, roomie.”

Natasha’s face slowly formed a genuine smile, taking the extended hand and positioning herself on the floor next to Sonya, crossing her legs like a little child prepared for Show & Tell. Leaning forward a bit, she peered into the styrofoam filled box. “Are there any instructions?” She queried, “Because if I try to do it without any, we’ll end up with a chair instead of a table.”

Sonya began digging through the box and retrieving different pieces, chuckling lightly in the process. “I’m sure the instructions are in here somewhere. Either way, we’ll figure it out.” She reassured, “Besides, it can’t be _that_ hard. It’s only a table.” She said with far too much confidence.

Natasha was hardly listening, now taking it upon herself to find what they so desperately seeked. Her digging was much more careless than Sonya’s, but also much more efficient. In the midst of styrofoam peanuts gliding through the air and Sonya swatting them away, Natasha retrieved the instructions that were coated in a shiny plastic. “Success!” She exclaimed with a victorious smile, waving the paper above her head as if she held a winning lottery ticket.

“Give it here!” Sonya laughed, snatching it from Natasha. Once it was in her own hands, she began to pull off the plastic, discarding it into the already growing pile of debris beside her. After observing the instructions for a moment, she noticeably became increasingly frustrated.

“What is it?” Natasha asked with concern, attempting to see what the problem was by peering over Sonya’s shoulder.

“It’s- It’s-” Sonya began stuttering, flipping the instructions in each and every direction. “It’s all in Swedish!” She finally exclaimed, stress in her tone clear as day.

“What?! That’s impossible!” Natasha yelped in disbelief, “Let me see that!” She practically demanded, tearing it out of Sonya’s hands. As she scanned it front to back, she realized that not a single lie had been told. It was all in a foreign language. Natasha, much like Sonya had before, became increasingly frustrated, her face twisted up in distress.

“I told you so..” Sonya murmured, crossing her arms.

“Well-” Natasha grunted, “Well I can’t read Swedish!”

“Well neither can I!” Sonya immediately retorted, gesturing wildly.

Before the situation could become too heated, Natasha allowed her eyelids to slide shut, taking a deep and soothing breath. “Okay.. We can figure this out. Arguing about something that we can’t change will _not_ solve anything.” She eventually opened her eyes, glancing over to Sonya. “We just.. Have to work together.”

“That’s very mature, Natasha. You’re making progress.” Sonya grinned, gently placing a hand on Natasha’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Natasha shimmied out of Sonya’s grip, beginning to sort the pieces dispersed across the floor. “Come on, we have a lot of work to do..” She spoke softly, clearly dismissing what Sonya said.

Sonya side glanced Natasha with concern in her expression, biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from pressing further. “Alright..” She stated simply, eyeing Natasha as she sorted the pieces to the best of her ability.

 

After quite a while had passed, the pieces of furniture that were once neatly sorted into categories were now in the midst of what looked like a crime scene. Plastic wrap spread across the floor, giant pieces of metal that seemed to fit absolutely nowhere, and loose screws scattered everywhere. It didn’t even resemble a living room anymore. It was a junkyard. A massacre, even.

As Sonya desperately tried to fit a round piece into a square hole, she was practically pulling her hair out over the stress this caused. “If we can’t build a lousy table, how are we supposed to build the rest of it?!” She exclaimed frantically. She continued to try making the pieces fit together despite their unrealistic shapes, but was failing miserably. “It’s like a puzzle, except none of the pieces fit together! A scam!”

“I’ll have you know, none of this would have happened if you would have paid extra for someone to build it for us!” Natasha barked, working on the opposite side of the table, and succeeding just about as much as Sonya was.

“Don’t blame me for this! I thought it would be a fun project and an opportunity for us to work together.” Sonya responded, losing whatever ounce of calm that she had left. “And it would have been if the damn instructions didn’t sound like something from The Sims!” She scoffed, “Except Sims actually know how to build.”

“Look,” Natasha sighed, “Maybe we can make out what we’re supposed to do by looking at the pictures in the instructions.” She suggested as calmly as possible.

Sonya paused, setting down the metal bar in her hand. “Maybe..” She started, “But what if we can’t?!” She added, eyes darting up to Natasha.

Natasha rose from the ground, collecting the instructions that they had previously tossed aside. “We have to try. Playing a guessing game won’t work.”

“Alright, have it your way.” Sonya conceded.

“ _Now_ who is the determined one?” Natasha replied with a smirk.

“Just tell me what the pictures say!” Sonya insisted.

 

After a moment more of bickering, Natasha began explaining what was pictured, Sonya blindly following along. It was going much smoother than it had been, but it still wasn’t ideal. At the very least, more of the pieces were sliding into place. There were many parts leftover, but if it wasn’t crumbling to the ground, it was considered a success.

After much trial and error, Sonya and Natasha both stood and took a step back, marveling at their creation. A tad bit lopsided, but they couldn’t be prouder of their accomplishment.

“Well, it’s certainly..” Natasha cocked her head to the side, pondering what word could possibly describe it. “Something.” She finally exhaled, crossing her arms.

“Well, ‘something’ won’t be good enough for all of our furniture. I’ll have to hire someone.” Sonya shook her head, “Like I should have done in the first place.” She added, stepping over the garbage to get into the kitchen, desperately needing a glass of water.

“I need a nap..” Natasha sighed in exhaustion, eyes moving from the table to Sonya, watching her wander off.

Just as she was stepping over the pile, Sonya’s foot crunched down on something. A bit startled, she stepped back and collected what was beneath her. Upon closer examination, her face turned a pale white. “Natasha..?” She spoke weakly, slowly turning to face her. 

“What is it?” Natasha asked curiously, taking a step towards Sonya.

“I believe you missed something with your careless digging.” Sonya mentioned in a montone, no emotion to be seen in her face.

Much to Natasha’s horror, Sonya was holding..

English instructions.


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